remi - Kisses

remae's got a new talent... kisses! too cute for words so i thought i'd just show you. who doesnt need a few remi-kisses in their life??

congrats friends

we recently found out that our very good friends are expecting their first baby... YAY! So happy for them (just wished they lived a little closer :)
As I was racking my brain trying to figure out something little I could send as a congratulations, I started thinking of some of her favorite things. Well, one thing led to another and here's what transpired...
She loves dessert - so I decided to make some of her favorite things in dessert form! Items chosen: Ugly dolls (don't ask me why), Pasquale's restaurant garlic twist roll with sauce, Diet Snapple Peach Tea. I know... random right? But still, I'm hopeful she will like! We also included a few goodies in the gift box (such as Shout spray - the best stain remover ever, some belly bars, a list of our fav name ideas such as "Peterina" and "ephiffany" etc. :), and of course diapers for packing padding!) Not sure how I would feel getting Ugly doll cookies in the mail...um... thanks?? I guess?
... but we're hoping they feel the love. Can't wait for little baby Hoehnen!

here are a few pics of my creations (i took the pics primarily to send to our friends, because most likely the cookies did NOT arrive without getting broken, smushed, etc.)




so this one is a little rough, but its the thought right??...

on the move!

within a mere 3 days or so last week, remae went from being relatively immobile (just slight rolling) to sitting up like a pro and now crawling. Yup! my little 7 month old girl is officially on the move! NBD you say? not so fast... this means way less work will be accomplished - overall productivity is going way down now. No more letting her play on a blanket while I do a few things, no more laying still while I shower, no more couch, no more... well lots of things! Already within seconds, she's almost across the room, inevitably finding something she shouldn't. Go Remi Go! I love watching her grow and change... but this is yet one more harsh reminder of just how fast time goes. One running, one crawling... yikes!
here she goes...

its a....... nephew!

Welcome to the world and our family Sebastian Theophilus Bunner! So thankful for another beautiful and healthy baby. That makes 9 kiddos so far on my hubby's side = MASS CHAOS! Got to visit the little dude during pete's lunch hour today - such a precious blessing. Looks just like his older brothers!

Congratulations Steph, Brice, Atherton & Edmond on your new little guy.



looks thrilled doesnt she??


and that brings the current edmonds count to..... 6-boys | 3-girls

all-star

every year for the all-star game, pete's family gets together to watch. its way more about the food than the baseball though! usually we all bring a ton of food and try and have a new dish each inning... although it normally doesnt end up being that organized. so last tuesday we got together at john & alexis' new home for the game...


the kids loved our little cake pops craft... the boys scarfed within seconds!


the girlies playin together...

taking in a little bball...

hahaha - classic...

the kiddos thoroughly enjoying me & pete's homemade peach ice cream...




good food... a little bit of baseball... lots of noise... fam time...
all-in-all a pretty good evening!

belly laugh... poor remae

oh its the little things. how fun to be 2 and find such enjoyment over something so silly. ellie belly-laughin at remi's expense...

Dear Jesus

Ellia’s random prayer in the car as we were driving around today:
"Dear Jesus thank you for this day. Thank you for our food. I pray that you’ll call me if you get scared or if you need anything or if you need water. Please keep mommy safe. AAAAAAAA MEN!"

latest DIY completion!

probably not gonna believe this but... the porch is FINISHED! YAY! although there are a few very minor touch-ups here and there, etc., I think I can officially say its done. goodbye leaning porch, goodbye wasp nests, goodbye scary cabinets, goodbye nasty outdoor carpet, goodbye old milk pass-through, goodbye hazardous stairs, goodbye dingy everything... and hello pottery barn replica! after months of really hard work, we can now relax and enjoy our new mud room. of course, we couldn't just let it be at the porch... you know, when you start one project it always leads to at LEAST one more. So we also tackled all our landscaping - HUGE!
So as the final credits roll through... big thanks to the brains and back of the operation, my dad (without whom we'd never accomplish any DIY, ever), a huge help - my uncle jim, hardest worker/landscaper/babysitter my mom, the awkward and yukky work go-to-guy hardworking and mostly patient hubby, (i must say i worked pretty hard on this too if I can throw that in ;), and of course the little girlies for bearing with us while they didnt always have our complete attention & had many a nap interrupted by sawing, drilling, etc.!
so as we put yet another project behind us, we are excited to enjoy the rest of our summer and try and remember what a normal weekend is like. ill apologize in advance for the excessive amount of pictures, but just had to keep a good record of all we went through! :) heres a glance at our latest DIY before/during and after pics...

Before - didnt get the greatest before pic - they already started ripping out cabinets, etc. before i had the chance...

During...
AFTER!

dad made the bench around the baskets pete & i found. then i made the cushion for the top! (with moms help of course)

all things 4th

so after weeks of working, planning, emailing, calling, ordering, organizing, -ing, -ing, -ing... the parade and all its fun and heat are over! I would have to say that for the limited time given us and the imposed (not volunteered) leading and planning, it was a success! Our church (Grace) strolled the westerville parade route with a beautifully decorated float and pretty spiffy shirts handing out 3300 popsicles, 1500 balloons and over 150lbs. of candy! It was quite the experience. It went by very quickly as we rushed around to the kids, but we certainly felt it by the end of the day! My hope is that we were a delight to a few, maybe drawing them to our church home and eventually to Jesus.
Afterwards we tried cooling down a little at our friends pool party. By the end of the day, the girls were OUT and unfortunately my westerville fireworks tradition was too. Pete and I stood on our new back porch steps and enjoyed them through the trees... not what I had in mind, but pretty romantic actually!All-in-all a good day with all things (3rd &) 4th..... although very thankful for a couple days off now to recoup.
some highlights...

gettin ready to head out...

our pretty float!

rallying all the troops for the parade...


of course a little lunch break before the long day...

dont let this picture fool you... ellia rode in her wagon like a little queen until the last block.


4th pictures before church... my little american girls: